Saturday's letters: Let’s end the stigma

Published: Saturday, April 27, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, April 26, 2013 at 6:04 p.m.

To the editor: Dana Summers’ cartoon on the editorial page last Sunday (“Gun Control — Pressure Cooker Control — Mail Control”) hit the nail on the head ... almost.

Clearly we can’t ban everything; the proposal to limit magazine size to 10 rounds so a shooter can be tackled after shooting only 10 kids is preposterous. The shooting of one kid is an unmitigated disaster. Just ask the parents. But Summers’ punch line (“How about just crazy-person control?”) was unfortunate.

As Summers suggests, the answer lies more on mental health than banning things. Unfortunately, mental health treatment is messy, it’s not cheap, and it’s not instantaneous. No two cases are the same. Results are not easily measured, and it is unlikely to eliminate such attacks. But it is the only proposal I’ve seen that directly addresses the problem.

It must be done. And soon. And it should start by toning down the stigma associated with seeking help. Not all shooters, bombers and poisoners are clinically “crazy,” and the sobriquet Mr. Summers used doesn’t help.

James D. Echols

Hendersonville

Chiropractic care

To the editor: I enjoyed the Associated Press article “Animal chiropractors offer pet care alternative” that you ran April 17. It helps people see alternatives to drugs and/or surgery for various spine-related ailments for animals or humans.

Chiropractic care is based on examination and care of the human frame and structures, which can interfere with function. When a spine is injured in a non-emergency case, a variety of offerings can provide relief.

Just as I refer for non-chiropractic care when it is most appropriate, I hope other physicians get beyond “myths” of chiropractic to refer patients for such care.

The article featured two animals healed by chiropractic care. Sparky the dog’s injured neck caused severe pain and seizures, which he was relieved of. He was spared euthanasia.

<p>To the editor: Dana Summers’ cartoon on the editorial page last Sunday (Gun Control  Pressure Cooker Control  Mail Control) hit the nail on the head ... almost.</p><p>Clearly we can’t ban everything; the proposal to limit magazine size to 10 rounds so a shooter can be tackled after shooting only 10 kids is preposterous. The shooting of one kid is an unmitigated disaster. Just ask the parents. But Summers’ punch line (How about just crazy-person control?) was unfortunate.</p><p>As Summers suggests, the answer lies more on mental health than banning things. Unfortunately, mental health treatment is messy, it’s not cheap, and it’s not instantaneous. No two cases are the same. Results are not easily measured, and it is unlikely to eliminate such attacks. But it is the only proposal I’ve seen that directly addresses the problem.</p><p>It must be done. And soon. And it should start by toning down the stigma associated with seeking help. Not all shooters, bombers and poisoners are clinically crazy, and the sobriquet Mr. Summers used doesn’t help.</p><p><em>James D. Echols</em></p><p><em>Hendersonville</em></p><h3>Chiropractic care</h3>
<p>To the editor: I enjoyed the Associated Press article Animal chiropractors offer pet care alternative that you ran April 17. It helps people see alternatives to drugs and/or surgery for various spine-related ailments for animals or humans.</p><p>Chiropractic care is based on examination and care of the human frame and structures, which can interfere with function. When a spine is injured in a non-emergency case, a variety of offerings can provide relief.</p><p>Just as I refer for non-chiropractic care when it is most appropriate, I hope other physicians get beyond myths of chiropractic to refer patients for such care.</p><p>The article featured two animals healed by chiropractic care. Sparky the dog’s injured neck caused severe pain and seizures, which he was relieved of. He was spared euthanasia.</p><p>My older brother had concussion-induced seizures, also causing neck pain. After seizure medications failed, my parents sought chiropractic care for him.</p><p>His neck was subluxated (misaligned), causing nerve pressure and irritation extending to his brain. His extreme success with chiropractic care was largely why I became a chiropractor.</p><p>To conclude, physicians should help our patients get care to resolve problems safely and quickly and without drugs or surgery  unless absolutely required.</p><p><em>Dr. Rick Humiston</em></p><p><em>Hendersonville</em></p><h3>Off-target rant</h3>
<p>To the editor: Letter writer N.O. Klaner falsely claimed that the Red Army waited outside Warsaw during the April 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (April 20 edition).</p><p>In fact, the Red Army was still fighting the Wehrmacht in Russia and was nowhere near Warsaw that early in the war.</p><p>Klaner’s letter is basically a rant against leftists.</p><p>What he apparently does not understand is that the Jews who fought the Germans there were mostly socialists.</p><p>The Nazis were supported by fascist regimes and movements that were all on the far right. Some of these claimed to be Christian.</p><p>We should be glad that fascism was defeated in 1945 and that communism collapsed in 1989 under the weight of its own failings.</p><p>Klaner’s assertion that anyone on the political left is anti-religion is simply wrong.</p><p>Religion transcends politics and is too often misused by all parts of the political spectrum. Anyone who uses religion, any religion, to teach hatred must be challenged.</p><p><em>Rabbi Philip J. Bentley</em></p><p><em>Hendersonville</em></p>